Schools Are Prepared...

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The world is currently experiencing one of the largest health concerns that we have seen in recent, otherwise known as the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Hopefully by now, you have at least heard of the Coronavirus and have been able to see some of the news worldwide regarding the concerns. It first broke out in China and has since been reported in multiple other countries around the world. While COVID-19 cases have not been detected in New York State, we continue to prepare should there arise situations of cases or community spread.  The New York State Deportment of Health (NYSDOH) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) are recommending that everyone (including local health departments, health care providers, schools and businesses) prepare for the possibility of community spread. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, spread person-to-person similar to influenza.  Currently there is no specific treatment or vaccination to prevent COVID-19.  Non-pharmaceutical interventions, again like those to avoid other respiratory illnesses such as influenza, are the best method to avoid ongoing community spread. Below are some resources shared by NYSDOH and the CDC to help schools prepare.  While the links refer to pandemic flu, the content is equally appropriate for any community outbreaks of COVID-19.  We are still in the middle of cold and flu season, which makes this information just as timely should you have a concern related to the flu in your household or school. The Rome City School District maintains continuous contact with local and State health officials, as well as, receives frequent updates from the State Education Department regarding the preparation for a potential arrival of COVID-19. Again, there are no confirmed cases detected in New York State at this time, however we continue to be prepared in the event that the virus does make it's way to the Mohawk Valley. We have been able to confirm that the cleaning agents we use in our schools are the recommended cleaning agents for a potential COVID-19 arrival. The current recommendation for schools, coming from the DOH, are to continue our cleaning regimens as we would for flu. The DOH has also provided the following in a recent memo regarding COVID-19: "Through the weekly surveillance conducted by school nurses and health offices at our colleges, I know all of you are on top of keeping your students healthy. As more information is shared in the media I also realize that public concern is heightened. At this time there is no need to cancel school activities.  If there are any large school trips planned out of the country, they should be reviewed based on the CDC travel notices that are changing rapidly.  We anticipate continued monitoring and self-quarantining any travelers returning from countries with active COVID-19, this guidance may change if community spread is experienced within the state." We will continue to remain cognizant of the situation and maintain contact with all health agencies that are currently providing and will continue to provide guidance and support relative to this situation so that we are prepared if and when the Coronavirus appears. Again, the following links have been provided by the CDC to help all members of our community be educated and prepared.
https://www.cdc.gov/nonpharmaceutical-interventions/index.html - CDC link on how to protect yourself and others from respiratory illnesses being spread within the community.  There is a section specific to schools and worksites. 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/pandemic-preparedness-resources.html - CDC link to pandemic preparedness
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html - CDC link to Coronavirus updates
https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/ - NYS DOH link to Coronavirus updates
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html - CDC Travel Notices

Congratulations!


Staley Physical Education Teacher, Diane Penella, has been named the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Central North Zone ELEMENTARY TEACHER OF THE YEAR!! We congratulate Diane on this outstanding accomplishment and are very proud to have her working with our children on a daily basis. There are obviously thousands of teachers who could have won this award, however, our own Diane Penella has taken home the award thanks to the thousands of children's lives that she has touched over the course of her career. Diane is truly a team member who has always done what she knows is best for kids and continues to do so today. Congratulations once again to Diane Penella and thank you for representing Staley and our Rome community in such an amazing way!! 

Kindergarten Registration

Dates: Monday, March 2nd through Friday, March 6th
Times: 9:10 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 3:10 PM

All Kindergarten registrations will take place at your child’s home school, except for evening registration on 3/4/20 (see below). Home school is determined by your address. For questions about which school your child will attend, please call the Central Registrar’s Office at 315-338-6569 or check this link: http://romecsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_695381/File/Attendance%20Zones%202017-18.pdf.

EVENING REGISTRATION DATE: Wednesday, March 4th
TIME: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
LOCATION: District Office, 409 Bell Road, Rome, NY

The following must be provided at the time of registration:
-Original Birth Certificate (Your child must be 5 on or before
December 1, 2020 to register for Kindergarten)
-Record of current immunizations
-Proof of residency 
*Any child who will be 6 on or before December 1, 2020 must be registered for school


RFA Travel Club - UPDATE

The RFA Travel Club is currently looking for anyone interested in participating in their trip to Spain and Portugal in the spring of 2021. The meeting for the Spain/Portugal Trip will be held on March 4th (Wednesday) at 6:00 p.m. in room 1310 at RFA. If you or your family want to learn more or enroll for the trip, this is the meeting to attend. For more information on this trip and/or the meeting, please see their flier HERE. 


Strough Craft Fair - UPDATE


I have been informed that unfortunately, the Strough Craft has been postponed to another time. When further details are available, we will share them out with the community. Thank you for your understanding and my apologies for the confusion last week. 


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